Door latch and lock



May 1, 1923. 1,453,556

H. A.' THEXTQN l DOOR LATCH AND LOCK Filed July 20, 1920 5 Sheets-Sheetl H. A. THEXTON DOOR LATCH AND LOCK May 1923.

Filed July 20, 1920 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 ma M u E,

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May l, 1923.

n 1,453,556 H. A. THEXTON DooR LATCH AND Locx Filed July 20, 1920 3Sheets-Sheet 5 en/y Mery/zlf, aix #Infra/Faas Y Patented May 1, 1923.

neurali ster-,ies

Leases entrava THEXTQN, A.or `MrNnnerotrs, rirrimssora, essronoe 'ro qfHEAXTQNQipiiTu- EACTURING cfltcreivfvj er Mrnnneeoms, rrrrnnnsore, e,coeponemroiv or Minimi-j Y sore.

' Y noos. LeTcHANn LocK.

eppiicetigp ined Jiny 2e, 1920. serieu NQ. 357,625.

To 'zVZZ 107mm t may concer/n.5 1

Be it known that I, HENRY A, THEXTON, a citizen .of the UnitedStates,residing'at Minneapolis, in the'county of Hennepin and State ofiMinnesota, have invented 'certain new and useful improvements in DoorLatches' and Loeks; and l dohereby declare the following to bea'ull,clear,'and exact description of thel invention, such as will en,-able others 4skilled inthe art to whichit appertains to make and use thesame. v

My invention has for-its' object to provide an improved door' latchand-lock; and,4v to this end, my invention lconsists of the noveldevices andcombinations of devices' hereinafter described.anddeiiried inthe claims.`

The faccompan'ying rawings illustrate my invention in its preferredform,

In said drawings, like notations Yreferring tomlike parts throughout thelseveral views,

Fig. l1 vis aview in side,elevationshowing my improved latch andlock invworking position, inrespect to a door and door post,

with portions of the door and post broken away; Y l.

Fig'. 2 is a view of the same parts asshown i in Fig. 1, partly insideelevation'and partly in vertical section, with some portions broken awayFig. 3 isa horizontal longitudinal section on the line of Figs. land 2,;

Y away;

"Fig 4 is a vertical cross section on the line 4 4 of Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 5 is a vertical cross section onthe :line

5,5 .Of Fia 3;

Fig. 6 is a view, chiefly in horizontal section, taken lengthwisethrough ythe rotary y rig; s is a @foss stammt theiock 0n the linee-8vor Fig. 6, with'the parts in the same'position shown in Fig. ,6

Fig. 10`is a perspective View of a pa-rt of Fig-9 is a plfn View ofthelockingtumlth door with I'the base platefsectionof the lOCk @Sing inposition ithereon'but with f 'face plate section of the'casing andspring` pressed boltremoved;"v

Fig. 11 is a perspective view showing part;` lof the door post land fthebase section ofthe two-section'keeper shown in`Fi s.' '1,'2an`d'3,

Fig.l is a perspective 'view of the other or catch section of said'twofpiece or two'-y sectionkeeperdetached'; i

`Fig-13 is a perspective view of the :face plate or cover section of7the `latch vand lock casing detached; and n door, the hinges (notshown) olfwhich are Fig. 1 4 is a perspective view 'of thejfhollow boltdetachedand, lturned overl'onits side, so as to 'look'into the interiorthereof thriough assumed vto beapplied at the"fleft1 side of the f ilsaine. .The numeral -16 representsv the 'adjacent or right-hand doorpost. 'The mimerals 1'( and 18 represent., respectively, the baseplate'and the faceplate or cover sections o-f. the two-part lock casing,shown asl semble'd in Figs'l, 2 and', and 'shown sepan rated froinjeafchother in Figs.`'10"andflg.

rlhe said Fha-se plate -17 and face or `colver plate 18 are adapted tobe secured together and to thedoor`15 by screws 19 workingthroughregistering holes inthe l'two plates, when the parts are inworking position, .and the face or cover vplate 18 is. of such shape asto aiiord a seat for a hollow bolt2t), when said two plates Vare 'sosecured in` working position'. i f

rihefbase plate 17 is provided with a spring 'base Vor base Aofresistance 21 and a boltY stop Vor abutment 22, which'parts `are* shownas formed by stamping `them out of a body of the `bolt plate and'turning them i inward, until they stand at right angles to the body ofthe base plate' yand `parallel to eaeh other, asbest shown in Fig. 10.i'Ihe hollow bolt 20 'is provided with a' eorre' spending spring basevor base cl2"resistanee` 25, which is' shownas formed' by pressingv thesaine out'i-romtlie faee'fofthe-hollow bolt and turning the same inwarduntil. it stands at right angles thereto, as lbestshown in Figs. Sand'lef The numeral 24 reprey sents a coiled'spring' which,` when :coinlvv4from the face of the hollow bolt 20, when suitably compressed to therequisite tension, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and will then,thereafter, tend to move the bolt outward to its limit for bringing itsbevel faced nose into latching position. This limit is made a variableone, by providing in the hollow bolt 20 a series of stop seats 25, shownas formed by registering slots cut out in the top and bottom walls ofthe hollow bolt 20, and into any desired one of which seats may beplaced a hookheaded piece 26, which is of a length to pass through thebolt and depend therefrom, with its lower end in position to serve as atrigger for the bolt, while its body portion within the bolt will be inposition to contact with the abutment. 22 projecting from the base plate1'? of the casing, and thereby limit i the travel of the bolt, underitsk actuating bined stop and trigger.

spring 24. The bolt 20 is shown as -prof vided with three of these seats25 for the .combined stop and trigger 26; and hence,

tive to each other is, therefore, available directly in the latch andlock itself, by simply making the necessary adjustments of the saidcombined stop and trigger 26 to properly vary the travel of the bolt,under the action of its spring 24.

The numerals 27 and 28 represent, respectively, the base plate and thecatch plate of the two-part or two-section keeper, for co-operation withthe bolt of the latch and lock. The base plate 2'? of the two-partkeeper is shown as provided with vertical slot-s 29, for adjustablysecuring the same to the door post 16 by screws 30 working with theirstems extending through. the said slots, as shown in Fig. 1l. rEhe saidsection 27 is provided with end flanges 31, conveniently formed byturning over its end portions. and is also shown as provided with a stopange 32 projecting from its outer edge. The catch plate 28 is of theproper shape to receive the end of the bolt 20 and is provided with endflanges 33, adapted to engage the guide flanges 31, and has a closedinclined back adapted to abut the stop flange 32 projecting from thesection 27,'when the parts are in proper Working position, relative toeach other, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. The bolt 20 is shown asprovided with a screw-threaded handle stem34, adapted to be engaged bythe interior thread of a handle 35 which, when the parts are in workingposition, projects through the base plate 17 of the casing and asuitably elongated slot `36 in the door 15, as best shown in Fig. 3, forthe operation of the bolt from the inside of the. door.

The hollow bolt 20 is shown as provided on the rear end of its face withan inwardly extending flange 37 adapted to engage with any desired oneof several notches in a lock rib 38 extending lengthwise of andprojecting from a rotary locking tumbler 39 suitably seated in a bearingblock 40 fixed to the face plate 17, as best shown in Fig. 10. The

rear end of this tumbler 39 projects outward through the bearing block40 and is shown as provided with a handle head 39a. This tumbler 39 isprovided with a key-way 41 extending lengthwise thereof in the plane ofits axis, as best shown in Fig. 9 of the proper shape to receive throughits outer end a controlling key 42, as best shown in Fig. 6. In otherwords, the key 42 is a fiat key and the key-way 41 is adapted to receivethe same. The block 40, in which the tumf bler 39is seated, is providedwith a springseated locking detent 43, as best shown in Figs. 3 and 6,the inner end of which is adapted to engage with a socket 44 formed inthe periphery ofthe tumbler 39 and opening into the key-way 41. The key42 is provided with two diametrically opposite inclined faced noses 45interchangeably adapted to engage the inner end of the detent 43, whenthe keyis pushed inward to its limit within its seat in the tumbler 39,

and, by the camming action ofthe nose on n the end of the detent 43, toforce the latter outward and thereby release the tumbler from its lockedposition. The key 42 is provided with a pair of diametrically oppositenotches 42L on each of itsl opposite edges; the tumbler 39 is providedwith a corresponding pair of annular grooves 39h; and the block 40 isprovided with a pair of corresponding pins 40 projecting radially inward from the tumbler seat, with the two in line with each other andslightly staggered circumferentially, in respect to the locking detent43, as best shown in Figs. 6 and 7, and which pins 40a are adapted toengage the annular grooves 39b of the tumbler and the notches 42'l ofthe key 42, thereby permitting the key and the tumbler vto be ro tatedtogether by the key into unlocking position. The reason why the pins40EL are staggered, in respect to the locking detent 43, is to permitthe key42 to be inserted into into its seat. .it is possible to placethe tum bler 39 into its seat within the bearing block 40, for thereason that the key-way 41 is first formed open at its top, for the fulllength of the tumbler shaft, and is of such size in cross section that,when the tumbler 39 is brought to such position that the key-way 41 willregister or alignwith the pins 40a the tumbler can be pushed into itsseat an end of which, the outermost lug of the lock v riblwill come upagainst a. banking or stop shoulder y40b lof the bearing block 40 andstop the :further rotation of the key and the tumbler, and when thisoccurs, the lock rib' 38 will have become disengaged from the flange 37of the hollow bolt 20 and the bolt will be unlocked. The number ofnotches in the lock rib 38 correspond to the num ber of seats 25 for'thecombined stop and trigger 26 carried by the bolt 20; and hence, in allof the adjustments of said combined stop and trigger, the flange 37v ofthe hollow bolt willengage the proper corresponding notch of the lockrib 38, when the bolt is in locking position. The tumbler 39 can beturned into locking position byl hand, and,

when in this'position, the lock rib 38 will come up against a verticalbanking or. stop shoulder 40c of the bearing block 40 (shown in Fig. 7-When the tumbler has been disengaged'trom the locking detent 43 by thekey 42 and turned thereby into its unlocked position, the detent 43will'engage witha concave or cam action seat 39 formed on the peripheryof' the tumbler (see Fig.l 8) ninetydegrees apa-rt yfrom the lockingdetent socket 44 therein. This same unlock ing rotary motion of thetumbler, effected by the key 42, released -the lock rib 38 from theflange37 of the hollow bolt, as before noted: andthe spring-actuatedbolt 20 will then be in position for'u'sageas an ordinary spring latch'.'The inclined or' cam-acting surface of thel seat 39, then engaged` bvthe end ot the det'ent 43, will afford enough resistance against anysliding motion of the bolt to prevent it from jarring loose from itsdoor-latching position, or otherwise stated, any shaking of the door,however produced, but this resistance is not great enough to prevent thebolt Jfrom beingmoved by hand, or the camming actionot its beveled outerend, Vwhen the latter strikes the edge of the catch section' 28 of thekeeper, under the closing motion of the door. j

For' the saine' reason, to wit: the slight ref sistance aii'orded by thecam-acting surface of the seat 39C, when engaged by the detent v43, thetumbler' canybe rotated into its locking position by hand, thusenabling' the bolt to be" locked' in' itsdoor-closing position, withouttheuse of thekey. Tliefbolt cannot. however, be released Jfrom itslocking position without the use yot' the key 42'. Ditfe'rent locks-a-ud'the keys for the saine will have the annulargrooves 39b ottheirrespective vtumblersand the corresponding notches 43 of theirrespectivekeysf differently located andthe pins 40a in the bearing seat'ot the tumbler will Ibc, correspondingly located in differentpositions, so that only one key will' tit one lock. j l

From the foregoing description, it must be obvious that my mechanism isadapted to be used, either as anordinary spring latch or as a. lock, asoccasion may demand andl that it is interchangeably right or left, so asto apply to'doors hinged at either of the two opposite edges or toeither of the'two opposite sides of a door and its cooperating doorpost. It has also been noted that'the throw of the bolt may beadjustedto conil pensate tor shrinkage of the door and post relative to eachother. From the fact thaty the base section 27 of the two-part keeper,made up of the sections l"27 and 28, is provided with the slots 29through which its securing screws 30 are applied, it follows that thekeeper maybe adjusted on a postv to compensate :tor the sagging ofthedoor` or the post, relative to each other. y

The tace plate or cover sectionv 18 'ofthe casing is so shaped, inrespect to the base plate 17 of the casing and theparts carried by thecasing made up ol these sections, that the downwardly projecting endoi'fthe com,4 bined stop and trigger 26, carried by the boltV 20, canonly be taken hold'oi' bythe lingers of a-persons hand, underreachingthe lower edge of a downwardly projecting partlao'l" its face wall. .lnother.words,this" downwardly projecting portion 3 8 of 'the tacer wallofthe cover section 18 extends for the lfull length of the possibletravel ot said combined stop and trigger 26 with the bolt` 20, and, atall tinies,"will guard said trigger from being reached by f the horns.of cattle seeking to open the door. persons, Jfamiliar with 'thehandlnig of cattle in barnsa are well aware oi the tact that innnearlyevery,herd,y

there is likely to be one or more animals who get wise enough to alockte open it with their horns, it' they can vreachthe latch there! by,much in the sanie way as 'such so-called their holdingstanchions. W7 henmy mecha "wise' cowsv willi releasetheinselves., Ytrom i nisrn isused'on cattle barns,it is usually ap! f pliedto the inside of adooranddoor post".

and the saidv guarding portions18?L ot the tace of the'pcov'er sectionl18 otthecasing then becomes eiiective to prevent 4'thebolt 'from beingopened'` by the cattle.` l

lllthough capableofthe numerous tunic-v" tions above stated, it must beobvious that my 14,1echanism, is extremely simple and parts caribe cheapto make. Most of its stamped upvout of sheet metal.

rrEhe practicability land utility ofiny'imi n proved latch and lock hasbeen demonst'rated bythe actual commercial usageof'thesame.

lt willbe understbod,v ofcourse, thatfmore L'l Il orv less ot thedetails could be changed with-` out departing from the spirit oi' theinvention. i

What l claim is l. A lock having in combination rectangular boizlilebolt ot sheet metal, a boi;- lile casing enclosing the same and having atongue-bent up from one side thereol: forining a stop Ytor the bolt,said bolt having spaced tongues pressed therein at opposite sidesforming slots, and an adjustable stop and trigger member adapted to bereceived same, oit a stop abutmenton the casing, a

series ot interchangeably usable .stop seats in said bolt, and acombined bolt trigger and stop insertable into any of said seats,according to 'the throw desired and projecting into position to be usedas a trigger to retract the bolt against the tension of its spring,substantially as described.

4. l'n a door latch, the combination with a spring-pressed bolt, of acasing made up ot a base plate'section carrying the bolt and itscontrolling' devices, and :o tace plate section adapted to be separablysecured to said base plate section and to encase the bolt in either oftwo endwise reversed positions ot the bolt and base plate, whereby thelatch is rendered interchangeably right or left, as may be desired`substantially7 as described.

`5. ln adoor latch, the combination with a spring-pressed bolt and arotary holding tumbler, of co-operative engaging parts on,-

the bolt and the tumbler adapted to be brouffht into engagement byrotating the tumbler when the bolt is at the limit of its spring-pressedthrow to hold the same in `its latching position, substantially asdescribed.v

6. ln a door latch, the combination with a spring-pressed bolt, ot meansadjustable,l

at will, for varying the throw of the bolt, a holding tumbler, andco-operative engag-A ing parts on the bolt and the tumbler, one set otwhich is in a series spaced apart from each other lengthwise ot1` theelement carrying the same, whereby the said tumbler may be made to holdthe bolt inits vlatching position in any of its predetermined limits oftravel, substantially` as described.

'7. ln a door latch, the combination with a variable throwspring-pressed bolt having a holding` flange, of a rotary holdingtumbler having a holding rib with a series of notches 'forinterchangeable engagement with said tlange of said bolt according toythe length of the bolts throw to hold the bolt in its latching position,substantially as described. j

8. in a door lochu thecombination with a spring-pressed bolt a casing,of a rotary locking tu bier in said casing provided with a kel.' seatextending 'centrally lengthwise thereotand having on its periphery aseateiitending. into the lreyway for receiif'ing locking detent, and aspring-actig locking detent in said casing adapted to engage said socketto hold the tumbler and bolt in their locked position and which detentis subject to a camming action from the key to release the tumbler andlatch from their locked position, substantially as described.

-9. In a door lock, the combination with a spring-pressed bolt and acasing, of a rotary.

locking tumbler in said casing provided with a key seat for a fiat heyextending centrally lengthwise thereof and having on its periphery aseat extending into said key-way for receiving the end oi"- a lockingdetent in said casing adapted to engage saidsoclet, and a flat keyhaving at its entering end two oppositely located noses with inclinedfaces adapted to engage interchangeably with said detent under a cammingaction to release the tumbler, substantially as described.

l0. in a door lock, the combination with a spring-pressed bolt and aCasing, of a rotary locking tumbler in said casing provided with lreyseat for a dat key extending lengthwise thereof, and a` series ofannular grooves on its periphery, of radially disposed pins in thecasing, the inner ends ot which. project into said grooves of saidtumbler, a locking member in said casing enpngeable with said tumbler tohold the parts in their locked position, and a flat key provided with apair of diametrically opposite projecting noses adapted to engage withsaid member under a camming action to release the same and provided withnotches corresponding in number and'spacing with said grooves andpins,'whereby, when the key is seated in the tumbler, it may be made torotate the saine, substantially as described.

ll. In a door lock, the combination with a spring-pressed bolt and acasing for the same, ot a rotary locking tumbler in said casing,co-operative engaging parts on the bolt and tumbler adapted to bebroughtinto engagement by rotating the tumbler when the bolt is at thelimit' of its spring-pressed throw to hold the same in itsl latching orlocking position, a locking detent in said casing adapted to engage aseat in the periphery of said tumbler to hold the parts in their lockedposition, which tumbler is provided with a key seat extending centrallylengthwise thereof .radially tapped by said detent scat, and, a keyinsertable into seat and adapted to operate on said detent with a "ifcamming action to` release'the said parts said tumbler to hold the partsin their locked position, substantially as position, a flat key, andacorrespondingly shaped keyway extending` lengthwise of said tumblerwhich key is provided with two diametrically opposite inclined facednoses adapted to act on the said detent with a camming action to releasethe parts from their locked position, substantially as described.

13. ln a door latch and lock, the combination with a variable throwspring-pressed bolt having a holding ange, of a rotary holding tumblerhaving a holding rib with a series of notches for interchangableengagement with saidv bolt flange, according to the predetermined `throwof the bolt, a

spring-acting locking detent, the` inner end oi" which is engageablewith a seat of said' tumbler to hold the parts in their locked position,a at key, a correspondingly shaped key-way extending lengthwise of saidtumbler and tapped by said detent seat and which key is provided withtwo diametrically opposite inclined faced noses adapted to act on thesaid detent with a camming action to release the parts from their lockedI position, whereby saidvtumbler may be ro'- tated into a position todisengage the holding rib from the bolt flange', and an inclined wall orcam-faced socket in' said tumblersy face adapted to be engaged by saidspringactuated detent when said tumbler is in its v I bolt-releasingposition,`whereby lthe bolt will operate as anordinary spring-pressedlatch, 50

substantially as described.

14. A horn-proof door latch comprisingl a spring-actuated bolt andtrigger for moving the bolt againstthe tension `of a spring, of a casingfor saidd bolt having Imeansaffording accessto .the trigger by thefingers of a persons hand, and extending down in front of said triggerand forming a guard to f preventaccess thereto by an animals horns.

l5. A horn-proof door latch comprising x the combination with aspring-actuated bolt provided with atrigger extending downward throughthebottom of the same, ofa y two-section casing, the outer or covermemberof which is provided with a downwardly projecting face plateai'ording access to the trigger by the fingers of a persons handunder-reaching saidy faceplate, but always guarding the trigger againstaccess-thereto by an `animalshorns, substantially as described.

ln testimony lwhereof I aiX m signature.

HENRY A. T EXTON.

